Sweeney Todd &#8211; Wow, I thought this was perfectly done. I saw &#8220;Dark Shadows&#8221; a few months ago and thought it was quite the flop. So I wasn&#8217;t expecting much from the Depp/Burton/Carter trio. But the tone and pacing, the performances and the cinematography were all so flawless. (Wikipedia break.) Okay, I&#8217;m back from Wikipedia after I wondered if the movie was robbed of a Best Picture win. It wasn&#8217;t even nominated! Neither was Burton! That is just wrong. And Depp lost to Daniel Day-Lewis for &#8220;There Will Be Blood&#8221;. Not sure if the Academy got that correctly, Depp was in almost every scene and was pitch-perfect in his performance. Out there, but never too over-the-top (which is saying a LOT when it comes to Depp). I&#8217;m shocked to find out that there were no nominations for picture and director&#8230;wow!

Shame (Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan) &#8211; This is a tough one to talk about because it&#8217;s quite intense&#8230;yet not overwhelming. Amazing script along with quality directing and acting. I was surprised to find that it only made four million (on a budget of 6.5 million). That&#8217;s North America box office, I&#8217;m sure it must have been released in the U.K., if not elsewhere in the world. If you like serious dramas, consider this one a must-see.

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I cannot tell you how much I completely loathed both of these movies.

Please, please, please try and find a DVD/video of the Broadway cast of "Sweeney Todd" and see what true brilliance is. How Tim Burton utterly failed the movie in the last 15 minutes is completely shocking. Like all great operas the story is tragic, and the whole climax of the film should be Sweeney's story coming full circle with his wife. But the movie is more concentrated on the blood-letting and the whole tragedy of the story was lost. Plus Depp was okay but certainly not great in the movie, but Helena Bonham Carter was so absolutely wrong for that role and her caterwauling only made it worse.

As for "Shame," having dated a true sex addict, I found the story to be about as over-simplified and sanitized as could possibly be (despite the plethora of sex and nudity). I thought the actors were good, especially Carey Mulligan (and of course Michael Fassbender is hawt beyond all words), but the story was so off track it was like no one had done any research, which is a problem if 75% of the script is going to be improvised in front of the cameras.

I saw 'No' (foreign pic nominees) today in my movie preview film club. Very enjoyable film. Gael Garcia Bernal was great, too bad he was not nominated. I usually do not mind subtitles, but this is a very talkative movie and sometimes the subtitles disappeared before I finished reading. Great story of how 'advertising' is used in an election and it is a true story. Also the film used was tv video from the 80s, so it seems of that era. Some folks in my film club found it distracting, but I like it. It is one of those movies I enjoyed, but could only recommend to certain folks (due to the subtitles and political story in South America). Sadly I know some people that will only see Hollywood type movies.

^ Bleak and depressing indeed ... but since I'd read the book I knew exactly what to expect. I thought they made some really good choices in translating the book to the screen, a very successful adaptation. But no, not exactly a feel-good movie!

My dad and I chose to see The Road after Thanksgiving dinner a couple years ago Not exactly a happy family holiday movie.

And I didn't say there was outrage with Sweeney Todd not winning Best Picture. Obviously either NCFOM or TWBB was going to grab that. There was a lot of shock and surprise when it wasn't even nominated, though. I clearly remember that. It wasn't my favorite movie that year, and I didn't really mind personally, but the internet was all atwitter for a little while.

TWBB bored the hell out of me, though DDL was awesome, of course, and deserved his win. NCFOM was a very good movie, but I still thought Atonement was better. Oh well. At least it won best score. One of my all-time favorites, that.

Trailers for this week's smaller movies below. Check out the trailer for the first one, The Sorcerer and the White Snake! I don't care if it even has a plot, the visuals look SO amazing...can't wait to see it! The next three kind of interest me, but I haven't added them to my To See list. I'm interested in hearing from whoever watches the trailer for Unfinished Song.

February 6 Caesar Must Die (Documentary. From imdb.com: &#8220;Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.&#8221http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8KxCqkPf0

February 8 Lore (German dramatic thriller. From imdb.com: &#8220;As the Allies sweep across Germany, Lore leads her siblings on a journey that exposes them to the truth of their parents' beliefs. An encounter with a mysterious refugee forces Lore to rely on a person she has always been taught to hate.&#8221http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQu8dMec-jU

Smaller movies coming out this week are below. I've added "No" to my To See list, and possibly "Saving Lincoln", depending on future reviews from some of you.

February 15 No (Chilean drama with Gael García Bernal. From imdb.com: An ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHugqIEzq1k

February 15 Saving Lincoln (Biographical drama with Bruce Davison and Penelope Ann Miller. From imdb.com: The true story of Abraham Lincoln and his bodyguard, U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon. This unique film features sets created from actual Civil War photographs.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0LqZVIFMYg

I finally got to see Wreck-It Ralph. I liked it. Not as much as Rise of the Guardians, but still, I'll buy the dvd. I would've liked a few more visits to other games, especially the darker, more action-y ones, as the Candyland was a bit overly saccharine for my liking (and I like My Little Ponies!), but hey, I'm not exactly the main target audience for a film like this. And whaddaya know, turns out there actually is an appropriate use for dubstep "music" somewhere in this world.

And you know what else I liked?

In the end, when it's revealed that Vanellope is actually the princess (why not queen?) of Sugar Rush. I rolled my eyes and thought "Great, another Disney Princess" - but then she said she'd rather be a constitutional president AND a racing driver with super powers, and I was like "Hell yes!" Disney, you're making progress!

Pride of the Yankees (Gary Cooper, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan). I think I had seen this before, but thought, "what the heck, I'll watch it again". It was worth a second viewing. I thought Babe Ruth (as himself ) had a very natural screen presence. So often it seems that non-actors who play themselves come across fairly wooden. But he never made another movie. Maybe he wasn't interested in acting and only did this movie out of respect for Lou Gehrig? if so!

I Saw What You Did (1965, Joan Crawford). I think this is one of those movies my sisters watched on TV and talked about, so it's one I remember hearing about, yet never saw. Pretty silly, but an okay way to spend an afternoon when the weather is crap!

The Great Escape (1963, Steve McQueen, James Garner .). Hmm. Another one that had been on my list of movies to see for a long time. It's considered a classic, right? Gosh it is LONG!!! I should check out the editor at imdb.com and see if he ever worked again after this! Took a long time (1.5 hours, the half-way point) for something to happen. I liked the brotherhood aspect of the film and how men were willing to sacrifice themselves for others. But I'm not sure about that "classic" status....

Cleopatra (1934, Claudette Colbert). My first Claudette Colbert movie! Wow, she was something. Beautiful and alluring. I will have to catch more of her movies eventually. Any recommendations?

Anna Karenina (1935, Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Maureen OSullivan, Basil Rathbone and Freddie Bartholomew). Another first, I don't think I had seen a Garbo movie before. My gosh, she was stunning. She makes Angelina Jolie look plain! I thought this one was decent, but it's tough for me to get into movies that make heroes out of adulterers. Honestly, if you want out of a bad relationship, just leave!! How many centuries will it take for humans to figure this out? The ending was pretty over-the-top, but the acting was good and it was beautifully filmed.

Fido (Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly). Not bad. Just not great, either. This one probably would have made a better short film, maybe coupled with one or two other short films like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez did a few years back.

For all you movie buffs, Hulu is having a President's Day showcase of all the films in the Criterion Collection. If you have any free time this weekend, I'd definitely take advantage to see watch some of these titles. It's a great way to watch Truffaut, Oshima, Kobayashi, Cassavettes, Bergman, and other auteurs's films.

Please, please, please try and find a DVD/video of the Broadway cast of "Sweeney Todd" and see what true brilliance is.

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I have found local libraries that carry a BBC version and one with Angela Lansbury. Is there an additional version with Patti Lupone? I love her, so that one would be at the top of my list, but no local libraries seem to carry it...

As for "Shame," having dated a true sex addict, I found the story to be about as over-simplified and sanitized as could possibly be...

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Well, the movie barely made any money, I can't imagine it would have made anything if they made it more gritter and depressing. Although maybe it would have been given an "X" rating and would rent well as porn??

I attended the Best Picture Showcase at AMC Theatre today - saw 4 of the best pic non, with the other 5 next week
Les Miz - I so agree w all the comments about the close ups. What could have been a classic movie is now just very good. Jackman was wonderful - to me pretty equal wi DDL. Never have been a Hathaway fan and still not. Amanda Seyfried was much better than I expected, enjoyed Eddie Redmayne and at times thought Russel Crowe was better than expected (and my expectations were pretty low)
Django- omg, was so entertained, Tarantino reallky has somes screws loose, but fun!
Argo- had already seen and was equally great on Second viewing
amour- unfortunately had to miss the first 45 Mins, but the acting was amazing

Saw Quartet yesterday (took my mom for her birthday. I was the youngest one there. by far.) The plot was completely predictable ... but it doesn't matter in the slightest, seeing all those great actors plaing off each other is still an absolute delight. I was reminded once again of how much I love Tom Courtenay -- he has such an expressive face, he can say so much without saying a word. Maggie Smith is her usual amazing self, and Pauline Collins is great too. Billy Connolly ... well I have a hard time of thinking of him as old, I just saw him do a live standup show a few months ago and he hadn't aged a bit. His comedy might have been slightly ott, but it was a nice "we may be old but we're not dead" layer to the dynamic.

And can I say that when it's time I want to live somewhere like a home for retired musicians? Heaven.

I saw "Side Effects" yesterday, and it was very much an an old Hitchcock thriller with modern day elements.

I wanted to like the movie more, but I somehow was not particularly empathetic to Jude Law's character. Whether that was an issue with the script, or maybe just thinking maybe he was miscast, I'm not sure.

I really like Rooney Mara, but after this and "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" hope she finds a different type of character to play.

I found a movie I really liked at the library, just plucked it off the shelf. "How I Ended This Summer" (a Russian film). Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45_2ZZlbirY The comments at the imdb.com message boards make me think that I saw a different movie than most posters there. I really liked this movie as both a psychological drama as well as a thriller. Plus the younger actor has the most beautiful face... I discovered that he grew up as a ballet dancer. He makes one fine actor as well!

PeterG: Steve McQueen plus motorcycle equals classic. What more do you need?

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I get the cool factor, but thinking back to that scene...didn't he basically just drive his bike into that barber wire fence? If I'm remembering correctly he could have done something else, but just chose a bad move that ended the chase...

I saw "Side Effects" yesterday, and it was very much an an old Hitchcock thriller with modern day elements.

I wanted to like the movie more, but I somehow was not particularly empathetic to Jude Law's character. Whether that was an issue with the script, or maybe just thinking maybe he was miscast, I'm not sure.

I really like Rooney Mara, but after this and "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" hope she finds a different type of character to play.

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I just saw 'Side Effect' on Saturday and felt the same way you did. Rooney Mara's acting was great, but I also thought something was missing from the movie. The ending was a little too neat and tidy for me.